Interviewees: Alexandra Saw, Elena Yu (Year 12) and Sam Lewis (Year 11)
Written by: Andy Clapperton, Head of Learning
This year somewhat represents a changing of the guard in the Secondary Student Council, so we sat down with Alexandra Saw, outgoing Co-President, and Sam Lewis and Elena Yu, incoming Co-Presidents, in order to find out about their hopes and experiences.
Alex, what were the greatest leadership lessons you have learned during your many years in Student Council?
A: Collaboration and compromise – learning how to lead a group of people and cater to their needs and wants, along with those of the teachers and school leadership, involves a lot of important steps. When you get this right, you can really function as an effective team.
What are the contributions you made that you are most proud of?
A: Raising money for Heart to Heart and the Renewal Center was particularly meaningful for me, because this can contribute to giving others a second chance at life, and I believe we need to be conscious of both our privilege and our responsibilities.
What are the qualities you would highlight to Sam and Elena that an effective leader of Student Council needs?
A: Certainly, the ability to inspire by being a role model for younger students is vital, and as such you can use the position of influence to have a positive impact on the school and wider community through charity events.
Sam and Elena, what are you hoping to learn from your future experiences as Co-Presidents?
S: Having not been on the Student Council before, I’m looking forward to the challenge of trying to provide the student body with things they want to improve the community.
E: And in order to achieve that, learning how to work as effectively as possible as a team by delegating tasks to the best people for a given job will be crucial for us.
What are the major projects you look forward to focusing on this year?
E: For me, Feast is an event where we really bring students from several year groups together, and so I definitely want to make this a success.
S: Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity for the Student Council to bring a sense of fun to the community, and I look forward to exploring how we can develop this.
What else are you passionate about, and how has YCIS helped shape this?
S: I have been involved in Volleyball, MUN and the various drama programmes at YCIS, and I think each of these have helped me become more willing to step outside of my comfort zone.
E: I was a shy girl until Year 6 but have gradually gotten more confident through opportunities in music activities. Performance and song writing have helped build my confidence and playing my own compositions to an audience has pushed me towards a positive mindset. I hope to bring this can-do attitude to the Student Council this year.
